AirTrip announced that it will return more than ¥10 billion in total to shareholders from fiscal 2026 onward. The company plans to raise its annual dividend for fiscal 2026 from ¥10 in the previous fiscal year to ¥160, sending its share price sharply higher that day. In addition, the company has conducted share buybacks before and after the announcement, drawing attention to the direction of its future capital policy.
On 10 September 2026, AirTrip announced a policy to return more than ¥10 billion in total to shareholders over the 3 fiscal periods from the fiscal year ending September 2026 through the fiscal year ending September 2028, and said it would raise its annual dividend for the fiscal year ending September 2026 from ¥10 in the previous fiscal year to ¥160. Under the policy, the dividend payout ratio will be set at 100% based on after-tax operating profit before impairment losses and other items. The bold policy sent the share price to its daily limit, up ¥150 from the previous day.
This increase in shareholder returns was not a sudden move. At the release of its first-quarter results on 13 February 2026, the company stated that it planned to announce its policy on dividends and other forms of capital return during the fiscal year. In May, it resolved to conduct a share buyback of up to 2.5 million shares, equivalent to 11.0% of shares outstanding, and had acquired 872,400 shares by the end of July. Against this backdrop, attention is now focused on the direction of its next medium-term plan and capital policy.
This article presents 4 criteria for selecting companies that may meet conditions similar to AirTrip: “likely to update their capital-return policy in their next medium-term plan,” “currently conducting share buybacks or with a recent record of large-scale buybacks,” “a dividend payout ratio of around 30% or less, or dividends that have not kept pace with earnings growth,” and “challenges in the policy for using excess capital.” It sets out a policy of identifying 20 companies. Fuji Electric and TISI are also presented as examples, with the extent to which their next medium-term plans and post-integration capital policies create scope for stronger shareholder returns identified as a key focus.
The article also includes companies that have already announced dividend increases, but emphasizes that its primary aim is to assess the potential for “higher payout ratios” and “additional share buybacks” in medium-term plans, earnings disclosures and explanations of capital policy, rather than focusing on near-term dividend amounts.